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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Maria Loorberg (Marina Lurs) was born on April 10, 1881, in Revel (now Tallinn, Estonia), and passed away on March 30, 1922. Maria had a solid build – weighed 176lbs with a height of 5'6". In 1903 she became a student of Adolph Andrushkevich, a Russian powerlifting coach and two years later started appeared as a wrestler and powerlifter in carnivals and circuses around Estonia and other provinces of Russia.

Marina Lurs easily juggled two 70lb dumbbells, pushed up 176lbs with two arms, and snatched 106lbs by one hand. On August, 1913 Lurs established the record by planting her arms firmly on the knees and maintained 13 people on her legs. The total weight – 1940lbs, nearly a ton! The audience was dazzled by her “live carousel” act in which Marina spun a yoke with people attached.

Marina enjoyed an enormous popularity and became known as a female Kalev (a national hero of Estonia). She is still honored in Estonia as a strongwoman and a great wrestler.